"We asked why during this course of time did they not activate the EPIRB. She had stated they never felt like they were truly in distress, like in a 24-hour period they were going to die," Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Molle said.

Lieutenant Scott Carr said the Coast Guard made radio contact with a vessel that identified itself as the Sea Nymph — the name of the womens' boat — in June near Tahiti, and the captain said they were not in distress and expected to make land the next morning.

That was after the women reportedly lost their engines and sustained damage to their rigging and mast.